TEHRAN Johnathan Cyprien Jersey , May 16 (Xinhua) -- Expansion of ties between Iran and Saudi Arabia will be beneficial for the region and for the Islamic world, Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hossein Amir-Abdollahian was quoted as saying by official IRNA news agency on Friday.

Iran well understands the importance of Saudi Arabia in the region and in the Islamic world and thinks close cooperation between Tehran and Riyadh will have its impacts on the regional developments, Amir-Abdollahian said Thursday.

He added that Iran intends to expand relations with the Persian Gulf littoral states as part of its diplomatic efforts.

A meeting between the two countries' foreign ministers is on Tehran's agenda as well, he said on Wednesday following the Saudi foreign minister's remarks that Riyadh is ready to engage in negotiations with Iran over regional developments.

Iran and Saudi Arabia are two important countries in the Middle East, he said, adding that "We welcome negotiations and meeting in order to help resolve regional problems, clear misunderstandings and further expand bilateral relations."

"We will talk with them in the hope that if there are any differences, they will be settled to the satisfaction of both countries," he said.

Iran and Saudi Arabia have differences over several regional issues including the situations in Syria and Bahrain.

Christie's unveiled Leonardo da Vinci's Salvator Mundi at Christie's New York on Tuesday in New York City.

A painting once bought for $60 is about to go under the hammer, billed as "the greatest artistic rediscovery of the 21st century." Leonardo da Vinci's "Salvator Mundi" was unveiled at Christie's New York Auction house on Tuesday, and is expected to fetch about $100 million when it goes on sale in November.

The only known Leonardo da Vinci painting in private hands is heading to auction.

The portrait of Jesus Christ, Salvator Mundi, was only recently confirmed to be a da Vinci. This piece was thought to be a copy of a destroyed original. And it's still not clear where the painting was, exactly, for more than a century.

Christie's says that this is "one of fewer than 20 surviving paintings accepted as from the artist's own hand." It is expected to sell for some $100 million, according to Reuters and The Associated Press, when it is auctioned at Christie's in New York on Nov. 15.

It's not clear who is selling the mysterious painting — according to the AP, it is identified only as a "private European collection."

The work shows Jesus Christ bathed in light, with his right hand raised in a benediction and his left holding a translucent orb. His face is framed in brown curls and he is wearing bright blue robes with gold details.

The auction house says Salvator Mundi was definitely in the collection of King Charles I of England, based on records collected in 1650 after his execution a year earlier. It was sold and then eventually returned to his son King Charles II.

From 1763 to 1900, the painting was missing, Christie's says. During this time, its "authorship by Leonardo, origins and illustrious royal history [were] entirely forgotten." At some unknown point, the work was covered in additional layers of paint. Then, it was sold at auction in 1958 for the bargain price of 45 pounds, having been mistaken for a copy of the Renaissance master's work.

Turkey on Monday was asking the US to reverse a decision to halt the issuing of all regular visas at American consulates in the country, in a row that risks a major crisis.

Ankara hit back at the US move - sparked by the arrest of a US Istanbul consulate staffer - with a similar halt by Turkey's missions in the US.

Analysts warned the dispute risked becoming the most serious row between the two NATO allies in decades.

The Turkish foreign ministry summoned the US embassy's deputy chief of mission on Monday, urging Washington to reverse its decision to suspend all non-immigrant visa services.

Ministry officials told the diplomat the move was creating "unnecessary escalation and victimization," state-run Anadolu news agency reported.

The US embassy in Ankara said Sunday it would suspend issuing visas for tourism, medical treatment, business, temporary work or study, after the arrest last week.

Immigrant visa services are only for those seeking to live in the US permanently.

The US embassy said "recent events" forced the US government to reassess Turkey's "commitment" to the security of US mission services and personnel in the country.

Last week an Istanbul court remanded in custody the US consulate employee over accusations of links to US-based Muslim preacher Fethullah Gulen who Ankara blames for the 2016 failed coup. He has been charged with espionage and seeking to overthrow the Turkish government, accusations the embassy rejected as "wholly without merit."

Ankara countered Washington's visa move with further restrictive measures, stopping services applying to visas in passports as well as e-visas and visas acquired at the border and those issued at diplomatic facilities in the US.

The Turkish embassy in Washington issued two almost word-for-word copies of the American statement in English and Turkish, in an apparent attempt to mock the American counterpart.

"It's definitely a historic low in ties, at least in recent memory," said Soner Cagaptay, director of The Washington Institute's Turkish Research Program, adding that the last dispute like this was after the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus.

"Neither side is willing to step back," he said.

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